Enjoy

Sorry, had to work most of today and yesterday

Ash quickly showered after waking up. He then walked down to the field and released his pokemon. Many were still sleepy, but Ash still announced, "How about we have a pre-breakfast work out?" Several pokemon didn't find it a good idea and continued to sleep, but half or so seemed excited.

Ash led them in a quick jog around the entire pokemon center several times. For some it was easy, but for others like Torterra it was a challenge to do that run. At least everyone was not sleepy once we were done.

Ash then called Totodile and Tangela to have a practice match. Ash had to stop that match quickly. He had hoped the type advantage would help Tangela, but Totodile was far too strong. Ash looked at thew other pokemon and called, "Elekid, how about you battle Totodile?"

Elekid looked up in surprise before nodding. Elekid was extremely young, but Ash wanted to get a gauge of his power. Elekid ran forward and immediately launched a Thundershock attack. Totodile stood there and took the attack without anything more than a flinch. Totodile than jumped forward trying a Bite attack. Elekid countered with a ThunderPunch, but it didn't have much effect. Totodile bit the other hand of Elekid. Elekid grunted in pain before using Dynamic Punch. The attack itself didn't hurt Totodile, but the resulting confusion made him stop the attack. Totodile took a couple confused steps back, and Elekid hit him with Cross Chop. Totodile got thrown on his back and then hit with another Thundershock. Ash looked in concern at Totodile, but it immediately jumped up and did his usual dance. Elekid was shocked, and couldn't dodge the Ice Punch. Elekid got launched back, and Ash caught the poor pokemon.

Ash whispered several words of praise before returning the pokemon. He then turned and watched Totodile as he continued to dance. That pokemon had taken those attacks, but didn't seem hurt in the least. That was either showing that Elekid didn't have much power or Totodile had gotten much stronger. Ash figured the second one was more likely.

He walked up to the dancing Totodile and kneeled down as he asked, "Totodile, have you been practicing in battling? You were never this powerful before." Totodile smiled and started to dance again. Ash stood up and claimed, "We need to test your new power. Pikachu, your up."

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to face Totodile. Pikachu immediately shot out a Thunderbolt. Totodile lifted a glowing claw and his tail started glowing. The attack collided with the Metal Claw, and the electricity ran through the two attacks and dissipated into the ground.

Ash frowned and called over, "Did you figure that out from Floatzel, Totodile?" Totodile started jumping which Ash took as an affirmative. So no long distance moves would work, he wondered how Pikachu would handle this.

Pikachu started darting forward in a Quick Attack. Totodile tried to shoot Pikachu with Water Gun, but Pikachu dodged lithely to connect the attack. Totodile slid back several feet before recovering. He immediately shot another Water Gun which connected. It wasn't too effective, and Pikachu split it with Iron Tail before trying another Iron Tail. Totodile countered with another Metal Claw, and then used the other set to land a Dragon Claw attack. Ash gasped as Pikachu flew away with a cry. Totodile had taught himself so many new moves. Iron Tail and Dragon Claw. Totodile had been working hard.

Pikachu landed and growled before streaking towards Totodile in a Volt Tackle. Ash watched to see Totodile's counter. Totodile launched an extremely powerful stream of water at the approaching Pikachu. It had even learned Hydro Pump. Volt Tackle connected with Hydro Pump. Pikachu was immobile for several seconds before overpowering the attack and splitting it till he connected with Totodile. Totodile was thrown back at amazing speed. Totodile slid across the ground, and Totodile started to slowly stand up.

Ash cut in now by announcing, "That's enough. You both did good." When the two sat down, Ash walked over to Totodile and put his hand on Totodile's head before saying, "You are great. You have worked so hard to become stronger. I can't believe it. Nice job." Totodile started to dance happily.

"Ash, don't you think you are making a little too much noise for so early," a voice called in amusement.

Ash turned to see the entire group coming in. He identified Lyra as the one who had spoken. He noted quickly that her and Khoury were much closer than before. He decided to share them the embarrassment and replied, "Nope, definitely not. Training should be able create as much noise as possible."

May shrugged and stated, "Well, I need to go get ready for my match. You are going to watch, right Ash?"

Ash nodded and returned his pokemon. He then said, "I'll go watch the match before yours too." He then joined the group as he prepared to walk away. H then saw Giselle not walking with them. He looked back to see Giselle still standing there. Ash called back, "Giselle, aren't you coming?"

She looked back and hesitated before saying, "No, I'm just gonna stay here."

Ash frowned and asked, "Why? It will be much more exciting to come watch the contests battles."

Giselle gave a nervous smile before saying, "Oh, just too much trouble. I can't really go out in public too much, you know. I just get swarmed by boys and all. I would rather just avoid that all, but good luck May."

Ash frowned again and walked forward before putting his hand out in a welcoming gesture and exclaiming, "Come on. We can't just leave you alone the whole day. I bet you are exaggerating, but I'll make sure no guys harass you."

Then it looked like she would take his hand, but then, to his confusion, she pulled away with a slight blush before saying angrily, "I don't need someone like you protecting me. I am perfectly capable of staying in the pokemon center alone." She then turned her back curtly and walked away quickly.

Ash looked at her retreat in confusion before pulling his hand back. He then turned to the group and asked, "Did I miss something?"

Solidad laughed softly before answering cryptically, "I think she might be afraid of future events. She might be trying to prevent those events from happening. We can just guess her reasons. For now, let's just go watch May. Then you guys can watch me and Harley."

Ash shrugged and followed the group. They led him to one of the stadiums and he then followed as the group left May. Before he did though, Ash ordered her, "Don't lose. I didn't come here to see you get only to the top thirty-two." May nodded enthusiastically, and Ash followed the other group.

When they found some good seats, they turned and watched the matches going on. Ash watched as a trainer got swamped by none other than Drew. Drew's Masquerain and Flygon easily defeated their opponents Meganium and Jumpluff. Ash felt slightly sorry for the trainer for having such a painful ending to the Grand Festival.

Ash watched as Drew shook the guy's hand before walking towards the exit. Drew turned and looked directly at Ash for a second. Ash stared him down for a second before giving him a curt nod without breaking eye contact. Drew nodded quickly before turning away. Ash watched as Drew left the arena. Hopefully Drew would take his advice.

Lyra tugged on his sleeve before informing him, "May is coming out."

Ash turned and saw she was right. He then turned to Lyra and said mischievously, "Congratulations on Khoury by the way." Ash laughed when she blushed before turning back to watch May choose her pokemon. May sent out her Venusaur and a Ledian. Ash didn't know she had a Ledian. But it seemed a good team. The opponent was a man that looked in his early twenties. Ash turned and asked, "Anything on her opponent?"

Harley turned to him and informed him, "His name is Peter Wally. Top notch. He was a trainer before coming to contests, and he seems to keep some of the trainer qualities about him. He usually is more intent on attacking his opponents than looking beautiful. It works for him though."

Ash nodded and commented, "So May has to out coordinate him, and not follow him into a battle."

Solidad now nodded and said, "But it won't be that easy. I have gone against Peter twice. We split it down the middle."

Ash looked at he and exclaimed, "So he is able to beat a Grand Festival Winner once. May has a tough battle ahead." They now watched as her opponent released his pokemon. Out came a Quilava and a…Machamp.

Solidad and Ash both claimed in unison, "Nice choice."

Lyra commented, "I don't think I've ever seen a Machamp in a pokemon contest. It seems much more a battler than an appeal pokemon."

Ash grinned and explained, "And this is partly a battle, and choosing an unexpected pokemon is a great battle trick. No one would think a Machamp would be used in a contest battle."

They then watched as the match started. Immediately Peter started an all out assault. His Machamp started launching Focus Blasts repeatedly, and his Quilava launched a Flame Wheel. Venusaur had major trouble dodging all the attacks and got hit many times, but Ledian managed to fly around and avoid the attacks barely and without elegance.

Ash looked up and saw May losing points quickly. Ash quickly questioned, "I know Venusaur is getting hit, but Ledian is dodging. Isn't dodging worth points?"

Solidad nodded and explained, "If it is done lithely and with elegance. Right now, Ledian is in a panic trying to dodge. That won't earn any points, and May seems to be drawn into his game. She needs to start taking charge if she stands a chance."

May finally ordered for Venusaur to destroy the Focus Blasts with Energy Ball and for Ledian to stop Quilava with Swift. When that was successfully done, she ordered a Mach Punch Vine Whip combo. Her opponent countered though. Quilava got hit, but Machamp caught the Vine Whips with two of his arms. It then used them to launch himself at Venusaur to land a devastating Cross Chop attack. It then actually lifted Venusaur into the air to throw it across the field in a Vital Throw attack. Venusaur landed heavily and looked to be close to out. Luckily Ledian managed to land a super effective Aerial Ace on Machamp. It fell heavily, but was quickly up. Now temporarily, Ledian would have to deal with both Quilava and Machamp. Ledian did a Bug Buzz, but it didn't seem to effect either opponent much. Quilava launched a Flamethrower, but a Light Screen blunted the attack. Machamp immediately came forward and destroyed that with Brick Break. Another Flamethrower directed with Ledian. The pokemon was scorched by the end, but then it got turned around. May yelled for Ledian to drop to the ground, and right as it did, a green beam shot right above it. Venusaur's Solarbeam connected with the stomach of the Machamp. Machamp was blasted into the wall, but it dropped to the ground quickly. It was clearly affected though as it dropped to a knee. May then ordered an Earthquake attack. The attack she gave Venusaur to battle fire types obviously, completely knocked out the opponents Quilava and damaged his Machamp seriously. The opponent ordered a Seismic Toss on Venusaur. Machamp grabbed the pokemon and actually had it in the air when the time ran out.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen. This was an amazing match. Peter Wally dominated for the majority of the match, but May Maple managed to come back with a last ditch effort and actually knock out Peter's Quilava. Which one won? Time or damage?" the announcer said over the intercom.

Everyone looked at the screen to see May's picture enlarged. She had won narrowly by her assault in the last thirty seconds. Ash stood up and walked away. He wasn't impressed with May's performance. She had won because of her Venusaur had been so hurt earlier her opponent had figured it was out. It was her opponents fault, not because of her. She had gotten lucky, plain and simple. Ash now realized that he had only seen May training her pokemon once, and that was with Blaziken in an easy practice match.

Ash leaned against the wall near the exit. It was only several minutes until the rest of the group arrived to wait for May. Ash ignored their questions on why he had left early, and waited for May to appear.

Ash saw her before anyone else did. He saw her peek her head around the corner, and look around nervously. She looked to be looking for someone, but she passed right over the group. She was looking for someone else, and she was doing it with a tunnel vision that allowed her to completely miss them.

She stopped and came completely out of the doorway, and immediately saw the group. She headed over and called a greeting. Everyone else rushed forward to congratulate her. Ash watched.

May didn't overlook his absence. She walked up to him and asked nervously, "And what did you think, Ash?"

Ash fixed her with a stare and asked, "When was the last time you trained your whole team for this tournament, May?"

May blinked in surprise before thinking, "I guess two weeks ago."

Ash replied in shock, "You last trained for the Grand Festival two weeks ago."

May nodded and asked, "Why?"

Ash now replied coldly, "Because you are completely unprepared. You won purely on luck. It is one thing to do that every once in a while, but not at the Grand Festival. If you battle like you just did, you won't make it past the top sixteen."

May was frozen in shock, and Solidad quickly stated, "That's a little harsh, isn't it."

Ash replied, "I think it would be worst to not say anything. If I say she did great, then she will go to her next match and do the same thing. If she is extremely lucky, she might win that match, but she would never stand a chance at winning. Luck and no planning will only be able to take her so far. It took me six years to realize that. I'm cutting three years off her time. It might be harsh, but its better than lying. I'll meet you guys at Harley's next match." Ash then left the group.

Ash had an hour to kill with only his pokemon, but he didn't want to train. He ended up going to a café to drink some tea. May's match had struck a note with him. Three Leagues he had done what she had. Each time he had the chance of winning. At Hoenn, if he had even planned a tiny bit for Tyson, he could have won that match. Tyson had dominated his last two matches. Against Ash, it came down to Pikachu having to battle Metagross before Meowth. That match had been as close as they come. If Brock, May, or Max had just told him to take it seriously, he would have won there.

After Ash had cooled down some, he set off towards the stadium where Harley would be performing. He got there a little early and chose an empty seat. Several minutes later, the rest of the group got there. An awkward silence descended as the match started. Ash watched and wasn't surprised to see Harley's Ariados and Wigglytuff win easily.

Solidad's match was right after that in the next stadium over. They waited for Harley to exit, and Ash saw Harley do exactly as May did earlier. When they got to Solidad's match, Ash was thinking of the possible reasons. He was interrupted when Solidad walked out. She was going against one of the favorites. Solidad used her Lapras and Blissey against her opponents Hitmontop and Sneasel. The match was a close battle between two top rank coordinators, but Solidad steadily gained the advantage till the time ran out. There was no question the victor.

The group waited outside for Solidad to exit. Ash even saw her doing the whole lookout thing. When she came over, Ash questioned, "Why are each of you looking for someone when you come out?"

They looked surprised and Harley asked, "Do you really not get what is happening right now in the Grand Festival?"

Ash shook his head and May explained, "There is this gang called the Red Granbulls. Usually they are always up to a little mischief and stuff, but they've started attacking Grand Festival competitors."

Ash raised his eyebrows and asked incredulously, "Attacking the Grand Festival participants. Why?"

Solidad stepped forward as she shook her head and claimed, "No one knows. They just started doing, and they aren't attacking everyone. Just random people it seems like. The police haven't been able to do anything yet, so all the coordinators are being careful."

Ash shook his head and stated, "I can't believe a simple gang would be able to do this. It's almost outrageous."

May nodded with a sigh before saying perkily, "But they haven't attacked for a while. Some people think that the extra police work has scared them off."

They then started walking towards the pokemon center. They were halfway there when Pikachu and Eevee perked up their ears. Ash also turned around. He called to the others, "Did you guys hear that?"

They turned to him and looked confused. Ash heard it again. A small explosion from far away. He quickly sprinted there. It took several minutes, and Ash heard several more explosions. He finally entered the area they were coming from.

Ash saw a Milotic collapse weakly. Ash quickly saw a number of leather clad men with pokemon standing opposite a long blond haired trainer. Ash watched as the pokemon charged at the weak Milotic. Ash acted and threw a poke ball as he yelled, "Rhyperior, I need your assistance. Take the hits."

His giant shiny pokemon appeared right in front of the Milotic. The pokemon couldn't stop in time and connected with Rhyperior. Rhyperior smirked as the effects didn't have almost any effect on him. Ash ordered, "Hammer Arm." Rhyperior roared and raised his two arms above his body before bringing them down on the enemies. Finally Ash yelled, "Hyper Beam." Rhyperior shot the orange beam at all the pokemon still standing away from him. The attack created several explosions as it destroyed the pokemon attacking the trainer.

Ash finally recognized the trainer and walked up. He called, "Looks like I finally get to repay you for helping Glalie, Robert."

Robert looked at him in surprise and commented, "I remember you. You had that magnificent Snorunt that evolved at the Hoenn Grand Festival."

Ash nodded and claimed, "Yep, that's me. And it looks like now, I can help fully."

They were interrupted from their conversation by one of the gang members. He was a big man and was yelling, "Get out of here before we decide to hurt you, boy."

Ash smirked and replied, "Hurt me. You couldn't do that if I was paralyzed."

The gang member grew even more furious and he yelled, "Do you know who you are dealing with? We are the Red Granbulls."

Ash shrugged and commented, "So. It just looks to me like a bunch of weaklings who can't do anything by themselves, and yet are still convinced they are important." Ash was interrupted by the rest of his group finally arriving.

The gang member didn't notice and yelled, "You little punk. I'll show you what happens to boys who can't keep their mouths shut. Mamoswine, Take Down." He then released the large pokemon. It started moving towards Rhyperior with an orange trail.

Ash smirked and waited before ordering, "Stop it." Rhyperior reached out and grabbed its horns. The three fingers of Rhyperior's hands closed around the tusks of the shocked Mamoswine. Rhyperior then roared and actually lifted the Mamoswine into the air by its tusks.

Ash heard Khoury exclaim, "How? Mamoswine are some of the largest pokemon in the world."

Ash smirked and claimed, "True, but to Rhyperior, it is little more than a child in an adults game. Rhyperior, finish this with Fire Blast." Rhyperior was effortlessly holding onto the struggling Mamoswine as he fired the attack. The powerful fire attack blasted Mamoswine into the air, where it promptly hit the ground hard.

The man yelled, as he returned his pokemon, "You haven't heard the last of the Red Granbulls!"

Ash now called to the figures as they climbed on some motorcycles, "And what kind of stupid name is the Red Granbulls?" The men then drove away. Ash pulled out another poke ball and released Donphan. Ash now ordered, "Follow them to their hideout, Donphan. As soon as you know where it is, come back and lead me there." Donphan nodded and started a Rollout to follow the motorcycles.

Ash watched as Donphan disappeared. He turned to see Lyra ask, "Where is Donphan going?"

Ash shrugged as he answered, "He's going to follow those gangs to lead us to his hideout."

May burst out, "Why would you want to do that?"

Ash replied easily, "I'm gonna stop this now. No gang should be able to attack competitors whenever they want. It isn't right."

Robert then walked up after he had returned Milotic and asked, "Why not just tell the police? They will handle this."

Ash shook his head and explained, "Police can't do this. The gang would realize the police were coming and would move away. The only way is to have a single person go. And I wasn't to figure this out. Nothing is done without reason. I want to figure out their reason. They aren't rying to steal the pokemon. Maybe they are betting on a person to win, and are attacking competitors to give their person a better chance. I don't know,but I want to. So I am gonna go blow out the foundation of this gang." Dinphan chose the perfect time to come rolling back.

Donphan started motioning to Ash. He had found it. Ash turned to everyone and ordered, "Tell the police what happened. I figure the explosions will signal where the base is."

May stepped forward and claimed, "I'm going too."

Ash immediately said, "No. I'm going alone. Two people will draw more attention. Now just go and call the police." Ash now turned around and followed Donphan after returning Rhyperior. Luckily no one decided to follow or Ash would have used Spiritomb to keep them away.

The base was remarkably close. It only took five minutes for Ash to find it. It was behind an alley, and remarkably normal looking. It looked like a building with an attached warehouse. Slightly run down, but not enough it would raw attention. When Donphan confirmed the place, Ash returned him. He needed smaller pokemon to battle in hallways. Ash released Totodile, who joined Pikachu and Eevee. Ash then took a breath and walked towards the building.

Ash looked as the police put out the fire spreading across the building. His newly evolved Feraligatr was helping the Blastoise put out the fire. Ash turned back to the Officer Jenny who was lecturing him.

Ash replied angrily, "It was your Arcanine that started the fire. All you had to do was wait until I subdued the rest, but you insisted on attacking. I had everything under control. I had over half already beaten and unconscious."

Officer Jenny was trying to stay calm as she countered, "It isn't the fire. It's that you entered the base of a gang alone. You couldn't wait for the police to arrive."

Ash exclaimed, "No, I couldn't. They knew you were coming before you did. If I waited for you to arrive, we would have found the place empty. I had to figure out what was going on."

Officer Jenny seemed to be wavering as she stated, "You still acted rashly. Even if you are a good trainer, you shouldn't have done this. If I hadn't word that you had experience with multiple criminal organizations, I would have you brought into the police station."

Ash knew that she was basically done, so Ash tossed her a jacket. On it was a large red R. Ash now claimed, "I found this on the guy in charge."

Officer Jenny looked at it in shock before asking, "Why would Team Rocket attack participants? They would have nothing to gain."

Ash shook his head and repeated, "There is always a reason. We just have to figure it out." Ash then turned to look at the ruins of the buildings.

Giovanni was sitting in his chair as he looked at several monetary reports. He looked up as a window popped up on his computer. He opened it to see one of his grunts. He asked irritably, "What do you want?"

The man was breathing heavily as he claimed, "Sir, the Goldenrod branch is completely destroyed."

Giovanni roared as he jumped up. He immediately yelled, "That is impossible. We had the police under constant watch."

The grunt quickly replied, "A boy attacked us. He overpowered any who faced him, and distracted us till the police arrived. I only just escaped in time."

Giovanni took a couple deep breaths as he thought. That branch wasn't overly important. It mainly was just some stupid gang members who were easy to manipulate. They were just there as an information link on police reactions. It was mainly the thought that a branch could be wiped out. He sat down and commented, "We'll recover. They were mainly done anyways, but who stopped them?"

The grunt quickly claimed, "A trainer who I recognized as Ash Ketchum."

Giovanni tried to keep his temper under control. Ash Ketchum. He first heard that name years ago. That brat had destroyed and impeded his operations many times, but then he disappeared. He seems to have returned and was even worst now. Three operations he had destroyed already. It didn't affect their plan, but he couldn't risk it. He closed the window, and pushed a button before ordering, "Have someone get the assignment of getting rid of Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. I don't care how, but I never want to hear of him again."

Intimidating, Ash might have an assassin after him.

Yes, I made Totodile a badass, and yes, he evolved twice when attacking the base. You'll hear the story next chapter.

Giselle romance next chapter.